It
has often been observed that some of the devotees and
spiritual practitioners, whether they are followers of
Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi or other Gurus or any Deity of
the Hindu pantheon, enter into the subtle and sensitive
world of faith, with certain convictions in mind. Such
convictions do not get infused into the minds of the devotees
in a cursory manner. When a new thought, inspires one
to adopt a fresh approach to life, it takes the form of
a mission. In the case of belief in God or Guru or Divinity
in any form, it usually takes an extremely long period
of time for the belief to settle down in the mind before
one truly tries to convert the belief to an existing reality
of life. Let me try to qualify my statement. Let us venture
to examine the case of a person who had very little conviction
about the existence of God or of a divine force, even
though he used to visit temples and willingly followed
the prescribed ritualistic rigmaroles. He used to do so
more as a socio-religious habit inculcated from childhood
because born in a traditional Hindu family, he had learnt
it all from his parents, priests and others during the
course of his childhood.

Majority
of people of our society belong to this category. Nothing
is wrong with them but they are just like this because
the existing social milieu considerably conditions their
mind. Such devotees can be seen in most of the temples,
religious functions, ashrams and in huge religious congregations
like Kumbh Mela (mela means a huge congregation of people).
While performing such activities they nurture a sense
of self-purification in them. They think that because
they perform such religious activities, the stock of their
paap (accumulated evil deeds from the past) will automatically
get exhausted. They feel free from their mental tension
having downloaded their past sins, present worries and
future concerns before the guru or deity, in whom they
believe. Such a frame of mind exhibited in temples towards
the deity and for self purification is good, but this
is as far as it goes because, generally, as soon as they
leave the temple the promises made before the deity or
guru are conveniently forgotten. Many people, sooner than
later, display the same evil propensities, when they are
out of the temple. A few days later they return again
for the mitigation of their nascent evil doings. In such
a state, the relationship between the God or guru and
devotees becomes conditioned by the devotees who want
God or guru to play the role of a benevolent provider
and protector, notwithstanding their self-created and
oft-repeated evil activities. More often than not, their
post-haste feeling of repentance becomes as transient
as their kindness towards poor people on the street.

Such
people, at times, display melodramatic exhibitionism about
their spiritual attachment with the deity or guru. However,
such pretensions do not build within them the inner strength
to hold themselves at the time of distress. This is so
because they don’t try to inculcate the qualities
of Shraddha (faith) and Saburi (patience) so essentially
required for spiritual evolution as prescribed by Shri
Sai Baba of Shirdi The first step to evolve in the spiritual
path is to truly repent for the mistakes done and not
to repeat them and undergo self-imposed penance, howsoever
severe. There are no shortcuts to evolution, be it the
evolution of nature around us or nature within us. Therefore,
realisation of the weaknesses within himself is the first
step towards self-realisation by a devotee. One may read
all the scriptures visit all the temples, practice all
the religions or even worship all the deities but spiritual
advancement will delude him till he consciously tries
for it.

At
Shirdi the old Fakir was ever vigilant about the thought
process of His devotees and used to influence their minds
through various gross and subtle methods, day-in and day-out.
One day, Baba taking the name of a certain devotee told
the devotees around Him that what will happen to that
person, if He (Baba) were not awake to protect him.

May
Shri Sai protect us from evil thoughts and lead us towards
purity.

You may have given many different gifts to your
friends and loved ones, but giving a subscription
of "Heritage of Shirdi Sai" magazine would be a
unique gift as it connects the people you love with
SADGURU SHIRDI SAI and brings His blessings with
the gift.

Topic of Discussion feature is
intended to initiate useful discussions on topics
related to Shirdi Sai Philosophy and His teachings,
Guru Tradition, Teachings of the Sadguru,
the nature and functions of the Perfect Masters,
true devotion, qualification of a disciple, etc.

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